Nation’s Best Get Off To Blazing Start On Day 1

NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships Get Underway

WALNUT – Fast starts and fast times were the norm on the first day of the NCAA Division II Track and Field Championships hosted by Cal Poly Pomona.

Championships were awarded in five events, two of which were held on the campus of Cal Poly Pomona. Cal State Bakersfield’s April Burton won the women’s hammer throw with a mark of 187-08. This is her second national title; she also won the discus championship in 2002. Crystal Smith of Ashland was second, just four inches behind Burton. In the men’s final, Damieon Smith of Indianapolis won the championship with a toss of 218-04, just ahead of Cal State Bakersfield’s Arnaldo Cueto, who was second with a mark of 214-06.

At Mt. San Antonio College’s Hilmer Lodge Stadium, where the bulk of the events are being held, LaTisha Burns of Angelo State uncorked her best long jump of the season and won the national title with a mark of 20-2 ½. She edged Southern Indiana freshman Candace Perry, who was second with a jump of 20-1 ¾.

The women’s NCAA Division II Athlete of the Year, Zoila Gomez of Adams State, was a runaway winner in the 10,000 meters, wining the national title with a time of 34:16.34, while Jacob Rotich of Harding University was a similarly impressive winner in the men’s 10,000 meters with a time of 29:06.12.

For host Cal Poly Pomona, Mark Batres (So., Hacienda Heights, Don Bosco Tech HS) finished fifth in the 10,000 meters and earned All-America status. Batres, who was also an All-American in cross country, earned his first All-America honor in track and field. He was 11^th in the event last year. Cal Poly Pomona’s Jason Johnson (Jr., San Dimas, Citrus College) ran a fast 10.57 in the 100, just two hundredths off his best time, but did not qualify for the finals on Saturday.

Thursday also marked the first day of the decathlon and heptathlon events and the defending champions are off to strong starts. Defending decathlon champion Nate Schmidt of North Dakota State moved out to a large early first-day lead in his event. He has 4,089 points after the first day and holds a 232-point lead over second-place Andrew Aake, also of North Dakota State. Chris Randolph of Seattle Pacific is third with 3,624 points.

In the heptathlon, defending champion Brianne Edwards of South Dakota has 3,152 points and holds a lead of 70 points over second-place Alissa Miller of Angelo State. Wendy Robertson, also of Angelo State, is third with 3,003 points.

In the men’s 400 meter hurdles, Bershawn Jackson of St. Augustine’s wowed the crowd at Hilmer Lodge Stadium by shattering a meet record with a qualifying time of 48.50. He has the fastest U.S. time of the year at 48.48. The final will be held on Saturday.

In the women’s 400 meter hurdles, Truman State’s Christina Winkler had the best qualifying time of 59.46.

In the 100-meter prelims, Shandria Brown, the defending champion from Lincoln University, had the fastest time Thursday with a 11.49 clocking. Simmy George of Lincoln had the second-fastest time of 11.52.

In the men’s 100, Lerone Clark of Lincoln University and Clement Campbell of New York Tech had the fastest qualifying times of 10.15. The entire qualifying field was under 10.40. Clark had the fastest time entering the championships with a time of 10.12.

Lincoln University’s Marlene Smith and Moya Thompson had the two best qualifying times in the women’s 400, with marks of 53.08 and 53.90. Thompson is the defending champion in the event, while Smith has the fastest time in the country this season.

In the men’s 400, St. Augustine’s Nathaniel McKinney had a qualifying time of 46.25 to lead the way, while defending champion Sterling Gray of Albany State qualified fifth with time of 46.53.

In the men’s and women’s 1500, Bernard Manirakiza of Abilene Christian (3:51.98) and Adeh Mwamba of Abiline Christian (4:30.93) had the fastest qualifying times, respectfully, while in the 3,000 steeplechase, Luke Baltrusch of Augustana College (9:09.71) and Kristin Anderson of Central Missouri State (10:57.75) had the top qualifying times in events Thursday.

In the women’s 3000 meters, Cal State L.A.’s Sarah Bouchard has the fastest time in the 3,000 meters after winning her heat in 9:58.40. Kim Lorimer of Adams State won the other heat in 10:04.06.

In the 4x100 relays, Lincoln University’s men had the best time with a sizzling 39.66, while the Lincoln University women had a qualifying time of 45.11, which was more than one second faster than second-place Adams State.

After one day of competition, Indianapolis leads the men’s division with 16 points, while Cal State Bakersfield is second with 15. Adams State leads in the women’s championship race with 23 points, while Angelo State is second with 16 points.

Complete first-day results are available at www.csupomona.edu/~athletic and click on the NCAA championship logo.

The championship meet will continue Friday with champions to be crowned in the men’s and women’s discus at Cal Poly Pomona and in the heptathlon, decathlon and the women’s 3,000 meters.